Nordic Charm: Light, Bright, Playful Children's Rooms

I don't truly have Seasonal Affective Disorder but I've self-diagnosed myself with its milder cousin, Seasonal Cranky Disorder. It's only September and I'm already bemoaning the earlier sunsets and later sunrises. This is all probably compounded by my railroad-style apartment which gets a small amount of light in the front and back rooms leaving the middle rooms cavelike, including my son's room, especially in the fall and winter. All this is to say that my eyes and brain have been drawn to the bright, white interiors associated with Nordic countries and wondering how I can bring a bit of that look and feel into my own home.

"Nordic", of course, refers to Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden situated in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic where winters are particularly dark. To compensate, residents tend to paint their walls and often their floors bright white to best reflect the light they do have and to make their homes feel more cheerful and alive.

The vivid white of Nordic interiors is a huge part of their appeal to me, but they tend not to be overwhelming neutral either. To balance out all that white, residents often use accents of black and also tons of pops of bold color. This is especially true in Nordic children's rooms which are typically playful, art-filled and characterized by the Danish word hyggelig which means welcoming and inviting.

We're about to buy my son a new bed, perhaps a bunk, and these rooms have inspired me to buy one in white or else to paint it. I'm also considering more lights and lamps, perhaps also white ones. Essentially, I'm looking for ways to brighten up his space and these rooms above - from Nordic countries, inspired by them or that I felt embodied Scandinavian and Nordic decor trends - are inspiring me at the moment.